To kick off the week, let’s get to know one another a little better! Knowing who is in your community is really important, birds and people alike. First we’ll start out by explaining the creation of Black Birders Week and meeting the team behind Black Birders Week 2024. Today’s featured birders are Sheridan Alford, an environmental educator based in Athens, Georgia, and Danielle Belleny, a wildlife biologist and author based in San Antonio, Texas. For these two, connecting Black people to nature is extremely important. After getting to know our birding community, it’s time to get to know our bird community by learning how to identify different birds and exploring what birds live in our neighborhood.

Click here to see Sheridan Alford and Danielle Belleny talk more about the creation of Black Birders Week in a video by LiveScience

Click here to meet the BlackAFinSTEM team and other black birders!

Lesson: Bird Identification

30 min Indoor/Outdoor all ages

Space required: a place for the group to sit and talk, possibly where kids can see what you’re holding

Materials: field guides and pictures of birds.

Free Download: Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance’s Field Guide for Kids

Optional: print images of birds with striking field marks. Good suggestions include American Robin, Baltimore Oriole, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse

1. Ask kids if they think they are good birdwatchers. Explain that birdwatchers just enjoy watching birds!

2. Ask kids if they think they know how to identify a lot of birds.

3. Ask kids if they’ve ever seen a: pigeon, robin, blue jay, cardinal, crow, seagull, goose, hummingbird, mallard duck. That’s 10 birds!

4. Ask kids how they know what those birds are (hint: how is a hummingbird different from a goose?)

5. As they describe the way the birds look, guide them so that they use descriptive words about color, size, shape, and proportion.

6. Tell them that FIELD MARKS are anything about a bird’s body that helps us identify if. These things are usually different from what other birds have- they are special and unique.

7. Use yourself as an example for field marks. Say “today, my field marks are (color) legs, (color) belly, (color) feet, etc.)”.

8. Hold up a photo of a bird. Ask kids to describe the field marks. Help them use descriptive words.

9. If possible, have them describe an American Robin first, then a Baltimore Oriole. This shows them the need to be as specific as possible.

10. Introduce a field guide. Tell kids it’s a book that birders use to identify birds they’ve never seen before.

11. If possible, hand out field guides to the kids. Guides with a reduced bird list are best so they don’t get overwhelmed.

12. Hold up a photo of a bird, have kids try to identify it. Start easy, then move to harder birds.

SoWBA original lesson

Activity: Bird Watching Walk

30 min Outdoor, Active 3-8

Natural space with trails or room to explore is required

Materials: Binoculars, kids bird ID books

Talk to the kids about the ways we tell birds apart, ask them to tell you all the parts of the bird and then talk about the ways that all of these can be different. Hand out binoculars and talk about how to use them safely (do not walk while looking through them, keep the strap secured around your neck, etc.). Make sure you show them how to focus their binoculars and hand a bird ID book to anyone who wants one. Explore the natural area, walk the trails and see what birds you find! What behaviors is each bird exhibiting, what features that you discussed at the start of the lesson are visible on these birds, what is unique about each bird, etc.?

SoWBA original lesson

Journal Prompt

Introduce yourself!

Who are you? Where ya from? How & why do you bird?

BlackAFinSTEM prompt

Today will be focusing on how and when we “roost” to protect our mental health. Learn how to find escape in the outdoors like our featured birder photographer and author Dudley Edmondson. Building familiarity creates comfort, and for Dudley it’s important that Black people have the opportunity to feel at home in nature. Today we’ll take time to observe with nature journaling and embrace quiet reflection with sit spots.

Click here to see how Dudley Edmondson uses birds and nature to find peace with a video by PBS.

Lesson: Nature Journaling

Nature Journaling can look different for everybody. Here’s our webpage about nature journals to help get you started:

SoWBA Nature Journal Resource

Activity: Sit Spots

Sit spots are a great way to teach kids how to sit and observe nature. They can be done anywhere: it’s best to be outside, but you could do this while looking out of your favorite window. To maximize usefulness of the sit-spot experience, follow these steps.

1. Have the kids spread out in the natural area you’re in. Set boundaries for where they’re allowed to go if the space is large! Tell kids that they should choose a space where they feel connected with nature. They should be able to sit comfortably there for a few minutes. Bring a plastic bag or a piece of tarp if it is muddy.

2. Tell kids that we’ll be sitting in their spot for 2, 5, or 10 minutes, depending on their age. You can adjust during the sit spot if you need to.

3. Before you start, set an intention for the sit spot. You could have kids just sit and soak it all in. They could try to remember all of the natural or human-made sounds they hear. They could count bird songs or look for insects. Choose whatever you think will get them excited about their spot.

4. Give kids a decisive start time, and update them when they’re half way through and when there’s 30 seconds left. This will help them make it to the end of the sit spot. You might also decide to pair this with a nature journal. Kids could write in their journal during the sit spot or after the time has passed.

5. When the sit spot time is up, everyone should share their experiences. Be excited, so that the kids will catch your enthusiasm. Discuss what the kids observed and how they felt. Was it easy or hard to sit still for so long? Were they comfortable? Would they pick the same spot again next time, or change to a new one?

Building ritual:

Sit spots are an amazing tool for building nature routine into your life. You could return to the same spot each time, or pick a new one. You could do this daily, weekly, or whenever you happen to be outside.

Created by Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature, with adaptations from SoWBA

Journal Prompt

Birds & humans alike need time to rest and recoup.

How does having birds in your community support mental health and wellness?

BlackAFinSTEM prompt

Today is all about exploring and learning about environmental issues and the advocates in your community. The featured birder today is Corina Newsome, an ornithologist and science communicator. For Corina, connecting marginalized people to the outdoors is important for everyone’s future. Learn and find hope for a better future with our Nature Success Stories lesson and Climate Defenders Obstacle Course.

Click here to see Corina Newsome explain why conservation and diversity is important for everyone in this video by pattrn

Lesson: Nature Success Stories 30-40 min Indoor Outdoor all ages

Some space to get into small groups required

Materials: clipboards, something for kids to write or draw with, Conservation Success Stories pdf , and printed images of birds

Kids break into groups with one adult in each group. Adults read kids the story, and show pictures when it makes sense. Kids have a clipboard, paper, and pencil. They draw the story as they are listening. Could be a comic strip/storyboard, could just be one picture, could be several little disjointed pictures. Doesn’t need to be focused or skilled, can just be doodles. Focus more on listening and learning and remembering, less on the art.

SoWBA original lesson

Activity: Climate Defenders Obstacle Course

20-40 min Indoor, Outdoor all ages

Outdoor (or a large indoor space)

Materials:

SoWBA Climate Defenders Obstacle Course lesson instructions pdf

Climate Defenders Obstacle Course Images pdf

Students learn about easy choices they can make daily to help our Earth. Topics include: turning out lights & saving energy, using green transportation, shopping local (groceries), eating more plants and less meat, solar energy, and reusable water bottles.

* Full lesson description is inside the Climate Defenders Obstacle Course lesson pdf.

SoWBA original lesson

Journal Prompt

Highlighting the people who push for environmental change in our communities.

Who are or have been the advocates in your patch?

BlackAFinSTEM prompt

Today is about honoring grief and examining how mourning behaviors can be a form of justice. Loss is an important part of the conversation about protecting our bird and human communities. Today’s featured birder is Juita Martinez, an ornithologist who studies pelicans. Juita cares a lot about birds and how climate change impacts their lives, as well as how racism affects People of Color in the outdoors. Learn how historical practices like redlining impact green spaces in our neighborhoods in our new Tree Canopy Cover in Madison, WI lesson, and how habitat loss affects different birds differently in Habitat Scramble. These topics may make you feel big things, but through embracing these feelings we can honor our need to mourn the loss that has happened.

Click here to listen to Juita Martinez discuss her work with pelicans on Ologies with Alie Ward

Click here to see Juita Martinez in SoWBA’s Nature Mentor series

Click here to watch a video by TED-Ed about how scientists are trying to learn more about how animals experience grief

Lesson: Redlining and Tree Canopy Cover

Tree Canopy Cover in Madison, WI Google Slideshow

Tree Canopy Cover Redlining’s Long Legacy pdf

SoWBA original presentation

Activity: Habitat Scramble

Habitat Scramble pdf

SoWBA original presentation

Journal Prompt:

Mourning can be a deeply transformational for of justice.

How can we learn from birds’ mourning rituals to develop our own ways to honor environmental losses?

BlackAFinSTEM prompt

Today is about showcasing the creatives in conservation and embracing creativity in ourselves! Enjoy the art projects provided or create something all your own. Today’s featured birder is Emma Brittain, an artist that celebrates the relationships between humans & the world. Spend some time drawing birds with Emma, do a bird art project, or let nature inspire you in some other way. Be sure to share your creations in the BlackAfinSTEM #ArtContest

Click here to join artist Emma Brittain in the Black Birders Week 2023: Avian Art Hour in a video by Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Lesson: Bird Silhouettes

30 min Indoor/Outdoor G2-5

Space required: a flat surface where kids can work. Outdoor will work if it is not windy.

Materials: Printed copies of the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance Silhouettes OR magazines with pictures of birds, construction paper, glue, scissors, markers.

This art project encourages the use of body shape, size, and proportions to identify birds rather than relying on color. It is an important lesson for new birders, and will get kids to view their world in a fresh way. This activity includes an introduction for the class, and can then become an art project (create your own bird silhouette!), or a game (see below). Either activity can include a writing component. This activity can be adapted to a variety of other classroom uses: breaking up into teams or finding partners for other activities, matching games.

Find the pdf of this lesson at: swibirds.org/stand-alone-activities

Original SoWBA lesson

Activity: Build A Bird

30 -60+ min Indoor/Outdoor G2-12

Space required: A flat surface to write & draw on.

Materials: Build A Bird lesson plan (https://swibirds.org/stand-alone-activities). Blank paper, coloring, drawing and writing supplies. Possibly printed “body parts” (also available at above website), scissors, glue, construction paper.

Summary: Kids learn about evolution, adaptations, and bird body parts. They create their own imaginary bird that must live in a specific environment. They must determine what type of food it eats, whether it is nocturnal or diurnal, and any other adaptations it has to survive.

Options included in the lesson plan for adjusting it to younger or older kids, and for making it more of an art project or a writing assignment.

Original SoWBA lesson

Journal Prompt

Artists often use their craft to raise awareness of issues they care about.

Show us how you use your art to speak for the birds in our #ArtContest!

BlackAFinSTEM prompt

There are many ways birds communicate and “sound the alarm” to others. Today we’re going to take time to learn about how and why birds make noise and how we can raise awareness of issues in our area. The featured birder for today is Joseph Drew Lanham, an ornithologist, naturalist, and writer whose work inspires action for a better future.

Click here to see J. Drew Lanham speak about connecting science and art in this video by the MacArthur Foundation

Lesson: How Birds Sing

How Birds Sing Google Slideshow

Original SoWBA presentation

Activity: Bird Call BINGO

30 min Indoor/Outdoor G2-8

Space required: a flat surface where kids can set up their BINGO board. Outdoor will work if it is not windy.

Materials: Printed copies of the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance Birdcall BINGO sheet and bird pictures (cut bird pictures out – students can cut their own to save time). Access to the internet and speakers to play bird songs.

Find the pdf of this lesson at: https://swibirds.org/stand-alone-activities

You can find bird calls and songs at a variety of places online. The National Audubon Bird ID app is free and easy to use. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide will let you search for birds using the Cornell website. Explore a few to find your favorite!

A fun way to learn bird calls and songs!

1. Pass out bird picture pieces to each student/group of students.

2. Play each bird call out loud, making sure to say the name of each bird.

3. Pass out empty Bird BINGO board. Students choose 16 of their favorite birds to place face-up on the board.

4. Play a random bird call. Students use the mnemonic (words to help us remember a bird song) to identify who is singing it. Students flip over the bird picture when they identify the call.

5. Play until a student yells “BIRDO!”, indicating that they have four in a row. Check for accuracy. Keep playing until you have a winner.

6. Shuffle pictures, replace on empty board, and repeat!

Variation:

Easier: state the name of the bird when you play the bird call (or slightly after, to allow kids to guess)

Harder: Play using the bird picture sheet that does not include mnemonics!

Many lessons exist like this, this version adapted by SoWBA

Journal Prompt

Birds use alarm calls to warn each other of threats.

How can/do you raise the alarm about environmental issues affecting your community?

BlackAFinSTEM prompt

Today is all about the joy birds can give us, so get out and go birding!

Click here if you can’t get outside and check out The Cornell Lab Bird Cams

Journal Prompt

Get up, come out, & go birding!

Show us what you find when you #HitYourBirdWalk!